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Bounce Back!! 6 Ways to Thrive not merely survive.

I’m not a psychotherapist — I don’t even play one on TV — but I can comfortably predict that, in your life, whether business, family or personal, there will be not so good days and moments. You can’t avoid them, no matter how hard you try. The successful person, however, trains him or herself to take those dark times learn from them and “Bounce Back!”

We watch children fall down and encourage them to get up, brush themselves off and try again. Why is it so hard for adults to do the same? Have we been knocked down too many times? Are we so weighed down with worries that we can’t get off the ground? How do we change this negative “mindset” and soar to new heights?

This thought occurred to me while watching my kids on the neighborhood trampoline. “Watch, Mom! Watch this!” Their faces beamed as they jumped a little higher each time — the little one kept looking up, probably afraid she was going to hit the sun — and then they flipped over and landed on their feet. Then they directed their attention toward ME: You want a turn, Mom?” After several “not right now” responses, one day…I surprised myself by saying,

Sure. I’ll “Bounce” with you for a little bit.

I tentatively started to bounce in the air with small little jumps, and then soon, I was bending my knees a little more to get just a little higher, when all of a sudden I LAUGHED…OUT… LOUD…This is FUN!! My children were startled but my inner child had taken over. She grabbed onto my consciousness. Briefly I let go of worry and bounced. JUST Bounced!!! Hey! Maybe I can reach the sun. I was no longer hiding behind the curtain of life.

We will all hit hard places or surfaces in life and business, but how we “BOUNCE” back from them will make all the difference. So use the word “BOUNCE” as your reference to remember these key tenants of your thriving life:

You’re absolutely right–sometimes we need to let go and ‘bounce’ a little. Life is far too intense not to. But in a practical sense, I’m impressed you were able to jump on the trampoline. I tried it once, but after having two babies I realized it wasn’t meant to be. In the bladder department anyway… 😉

I have always been a survive and thrive kind of person. I have had some really serious falls and always bounced back no matter how many years it took to do so. The last one that has been the hardest to bounce back from was my Lyme disease. It is not going away any time soon. When you have a debilitating illness that is chronic you may find it hard to bounce back and be the person you were before. I know that was true in my case. It took finding the right doctor to tell me I can get better to help me find myself again and bounce back. I take it one day at a time and pray I will be normal again soon.
Thank you for sharing this, it really touched a nerve with me.